Redesign vs Refresh: What Does Your Website Need?

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As your business grows and industry trends change, your website needs to adapt. But, how do you know if your website needs a refresh or a complete redesign? One is not better than the other – it all has to do with the current state of your website.

Refresh vs Redesign

A refresh is a light makeover that gives your website a fresh look and feel based on new products and services, up-and-coming trends and advances in technology. A redesign is a complete overhaul of your site. If your website has poor performance and relies on outdated technology, chances are you need more than a refresh.

Let’s learn more about the reasons for having a redesign vs a refresh and which option is best for your website.

Reasons to Refresh Your Website

Remember, a refresh is a boost to your current site. Here are some reasons why you might opt for this quick change:

  • New additions to your business. Does your business have a new product, service, blog post or team member that you want to share? You can easily add this information to your CMS using the existing template. There is no need to redesign the site to share this news.
  • Updated company logo. If your company is going through a branding change, you will want your website to reflect this. You can easily sign into your CMS and upload the new logo. But, as long as your color palette and typography hasn’t changed, you don’t need a redesign.
  • Outdated content. It’s common for content to grow stale over time, especially if you’re choosing to focus on other aspects of your business. Fortunately, you can remove this content and add new promotional content to your site using your CMS.
  • Improve the user experience. As you notice things that can be changed to improve the user experience, you can easily make them without affecting the overall design. For example, a refresh allows you to make changes to menus, add search filters and recommend related content.

Reasons to Redesign Your Website

A redesign is more costly and time-consuming, but websites need an overhaul once in a while. How do you when that time has come for your website? Here are some signs that a redesign is in order:

  • Static website. If your website is pretty much lifeless, it’s time to inject new life into it. Since you need more than updated content and visuals, a redesign is necessary. This will allow you to improve the user experience, simplify navigation and increase page load times.
  • Full rebrand. If your brand is changing due to a merger, acquisition or rebrand, you will probably need a new website. Rebrands usually make changes to the logo, colors, typography, brand personality and more. This amount of change typically requires a clean slate.
  • Outdated technology. Technology continues to evolve, and once your website gets too far behind, it’s difficult to catch up. At this point, you will need a redesign that takes advantage of the latest technologies, such as responsive design, dynamic web applications, accelerated mobile pages (AMPs) and more.

Still not sure if you need a site redesign or refresh? Contact Magna Technology and we can help you make the right decision for your site based on your budget and objectives.